Lecture Recording Checklist
Weighted pre-flight checklist for audio levels, framing, lighting and screen capture before you record a lecture.
About this tool
Lecture Recording Checklist
Weighted pre-flight checklist for audio levels, framing, lighting and screen capture before you record a lecture.
This lecture recording checklist scores your pre-flight setup across audio, framing and lighting, screen capture, and power and storage, weighting each item by severity (3 points critical, 2 important, 1 optional). It is aimed at lecturers, course creators and trainers who record themselves without a crew, and it holds the shoot while any critical item is still open — faults such as clipped audio above 0 dBFS or a scaled screen capture that no amount of editing can repair. Targets follow standard practice: dialogue peaking between −12 and −6 dBFS, 48 kHz sampling, and capture at the delivery resolution.
How to use Lecture Recording Checklist
- 1
Open Lecture Recording Checklist on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
- 2
Work down the Audio, Framing and lighting, Screen capture, and Power, storage and continuity sections, ticking each item you have confirmed.
- 3
Clear the critical items first — test peaks between −12 and −6 dBFS, recording at 48 kHz, capture at 1920×1080 — because any unticked one holds the shoot.
- 4
Read 'Recording readiness' as a percentage with 'Critical items cleared' and the weighted score in points, then press 'Copy summary'.
Why use Lecture Recording Checklist
Severity weighting
Critical faults outweigh cosmetic ones three to one, so you fix in the right order.
Hard blockers
The list refuses to read 'ready' while an unfixable-in-post item is open.
Copyable status
One click gives you a per-section summary to paste into a production log.
Common use cases
- Running a two-minute setup pass before every weekly lecture recording so takes stay consistent across a semester
- Handing a shared checklist to a teaching assistant who is recording sessions in your absence
- Diagnosing why last week's recording sounded thin or the code on screen was unreadable
Frequently asked questions
What audio level should I record a lecture at?
Aim for dialogue peaks between −12 and −6 dBFS, with nothing touching 0 dBFS. That leaves 6 to 12 dB of headroom for a sudden laugh or cough, and anything that hits 0 dBFS in a digital recorder is clipped permanently — it cannot be recovered later.
What sample rate should I use for lecture video?
48 kHz, which is the sample rate the video world runs at; 44.1 kHz is the CD rate and forces a resample when your editor conforms the timeline. Use 24-bit depth if your recorder offers it, because the extra headroom makes a quiet take safe to lift in post.
How big should text be in a recorded screen capture?
At least 24 px at 1080p for body text and code, and capture at the full delivery resolution rather than a scaled window. Students watching on a phone see roughly a quarter of the linear size, so the default editor font that looks fine on your desk is usually unreadable on playback.
Where should the light and camera go for a talking-head lecture?
Put the lens at eye level with your eyes on the upper-third line, and the key light about 45 degrees to one side and slightly above, brighter than whatever is behind you. Avoid a window directly at your back — the camera exposes for the window and renders you as a silhouette.